The Sun. — London, England, 1864-06-24 00:00:00

,„,,,,........ kie....., ....... THE C 'lva WAR. IN AMERICA, (11 . 6 , 7 f the Tiinv Correspondent.) BALTIMORE, June 7. The remarks of a portion of the English press, which seem to at lmit that Gen. Grant has hitherto had the advantage in the campaign against Rich mond, have been received in this city with great surprise. So far from having had the advantage, Grant in every movement he has made has been foiled, if not defeated. He has been forced to abandon every - position he has assumed, and after a month's strategy and fully a fortnight of hard fight ing he has lost one way or another close upon 100,000 men in killed, wounded, missing, and pri soners, and finds himself upon the Chickahominy, a place which he could have reached without the loss of a battalion if either he or the authorities at 'Wash ington had not been so perverse as to reject that mode of approach to Richmond because it was the favourite route of Gen. 1 1 41‘Clellan. Having made along detour from the North Anna he was confronted at his next halting place at Mechanicsville by the whole strength of the Confederate army. No thing daunted by his repeated and costly failures ho essayed during a whole week to force that position ; but finding his supplies in danger of being out off, and having lost upwards of 7,500 men on Friday, the 3d inst., in one futile asaault upon the enemy's works in front of him, he has once again found it necessary to change his plans, to abandon Cold Harbour and Mechanicsville, which he discovered to be as strongly fortified as any place with which his brave but luckless legions have come into contact; and to make a new and, it is to be supposed, a fir.al endeavour to reach Richmond by crossing the Cnickahominy below Newbridge. This was M'Clellan's plan, and from all present appear ances a few days will show whether he can make more of it than his predecessor, Up to this moment, however, he has gained nothing. He has exhibited a bulldog pertinacity. He has sacrificed his men. He has practically declared that heknows no such word as " fail." He has been knocked down and getup again. He has been repulsed and returned to the encounter. He has taken but slight heed of difficulties, and has exhibited a degree of courage which is the result either of heroism or of ignorance. Finally he has sat down to besiege a city which is strongly fortified in front and has all its communications open in the rear, which rear he cannot reach. Even the New York papers, which are always shouting " victory' when there is no victory, begin to admit, with wry faces and the worst possible grace, that a siege thus begun may last the whole summer, and that before the summer is half over, the besieging army, settled in a swamp and sweltering in the rays of a Southern sun, are much more likely to lose half their numbers by fever and dysentery than to produce the slightest effect upon the courage or the resources of the besieged. The battle of Friday last, of which but very slight and cursory mention has been made by the War Department, but of which the full details have been communicated to the public by witnesses of and participators in its horrors, was precipitated by General Grant with the intention of making it the crisis of the campaign. The position assailed was supposed to be the key to Richmond, tea the Chickahominy ; but as on all previous occasions since the passage of the Rapidan, the Federal com mander found it impossible either to surprise or (le= feat his ever-vigilant opponent. In less than ten minutes the battle was ended. The Confederate Ehot poured through the masses of the Federals, cutting them down by hundreds at one discharge— so thick were their advancing ranks; and in almost less time than it takes to write down the sentence which records their braveryand their doom upwards of 6000 men received their death wound and lay sprawling and helpless on the bloody field. Even the stoicism of Grant, though not outwardly moved, as far as the eyes of his watchful aides could dis cover, gave way. He ordered no renewal of the charge that had cost him so many thousands, inclu sive of five generals and 20 colonels ; and after hasty consultation with Gen. Meade, and afterwards with Generals Hancock and Warren, appears to have made up his mind that he was not on tha right rJad to Richmond, and that he had either to besiege it by regular process or find some other and more available route by which he could carry it by strategy or a coup de main. People who are ordinarily rapid for the prosecu. tion of the war are becoming alarmed at Grant's contempt for human life. He values his legions no more than if they were coveys of partridges. Already it is whispered that nearly 1,100 officers are to be included in the 90,000 or 100,000 men who have been killed, wounded, and taken prisoners since he began his sanguinary march. He is spoken of as the " butcher," and a requisition is hinted at calling upon the President to remove him. Not only the friends of the South but multitudes of earnest Northern men have already come to the conclusion that his campaign is a failure—that he has done his utmost and can do no more, and that he has already don© as little as M'Clsllan at a cost ten times as fearful. To-day some English officers and news paper correspondents who arrived in this city from the front, report that the losses on Friday last were nearer 15,000 than 7,000; that on Saturday and Sunday 5,000 or 6,000 more were sacrificed to the obstinacy of the Lieutenant. General, and that a spirit of disaffection. has arisen in the army which threatens to become a mutiny, if the men continue to be driven like mae_ines against impregnable positions, without the slightest solicitude whether 10 or 10,000 lives are sacrificed in the attempt. Baltimore, aristocratic and fashionable, is so engrossed with the war news that it thinks and speaks of nothing but Grant and Lee. Baltimore, democratic and unfashionable, is, on the contrary, w holly absoroed by the proceedings of the Conven tion. The noble art of Pr esident -making seems in its initial stages to require a v ast amount of music and oratory. As the witches cou l d not transform the Thane of Glamis into the Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland without much incantation and a musical accompaniment, so the delegat es who have come hither to boil the Presidential caldron and throw their several weird ingredients into the mess, cannot perform their allotted parts without the a id of fife and drum, the brass band and the trumpet. All day long and half the night, the delegations, who have determined to prolong the reign of Mr. Lincoln, live in an atmosphere of music. Under the balconies of the hotels, where they are lodged in batches—the representatives of each State keep together—some at Barnum's, some at the Eutaw house, some at Guy's, &c., the minstrels gather, to make the day unpleasant and the night hideous with " Yankee Doodle," " Hail Columbia," " Star spangled Banner," and " John Brown's Body Lies Mouldering in the Grave," varied occasionally with the more agreeable melodies of the " Trovatore" and the " Puritani." These musical performances are, however, but baits for speeches. The crowds that assemble under the windows listen patiently while the band plays, and when the musicians have done shout for some member of the delegation to show himself, After short and coy delay he appears, and addresses his fellow-citisens with loud voice and violent gesticulation. If the speaker be from New York, Philadelphia, or Boston, or any civilised part of the Union, the speech is for the most part prac tical, though ornate, and dwells largely upon the necessity of recruiting the last man, spending the last dollar to crush the rebellion, and the equally urgent necessity of re-electi ng . the statesman, the patriot, and champion of liberty, Abraham Lin• coin" for another term. If the speaker be from the West—from Ohio, Indiana , I llinois, or Kansas, he is equally stong on the last man, the last dollar, and the pcculiar fine of Mr. Lincoln for his place, but far more emphatic in his denunciation of the rebels, and profuse in the employment of such word s a s " hell," " damnation," and the " devil." These and some kindred expressions seem to form the staple of Western oratory. " The rebels," said a Briga. dier-General from Ohio last night to a crowd under the balcony of the Eutaw House, " have but two rights to which they can lay claim. The one is a Constitutional right, and the other is a Divine right. They have a Constitutional right to be hung—they have a Divine right to be damned." Another Western orator at Barnum's declared that " Jeff Davis would be in hell in less than six weeks, and that Abraham Lincoln was the noblest man that God had ever created." He was followed shortly afterwards by a very fluent speaker, who took much lower ground, and declared that " Lincoln was a common man, an ordinary man, a labouring man ; that a republican form of government required no other kind of man for a chief magistrate, and that it was the glory of the country that any hewer of wood or drawer of water was fit to be a President." This kind of talk went on all day yesterday, con• tinned till midnight, and was resumed this morning, and will doubtless last out the day, until the Con. vention assembles for the first time for the transac. tion of business. All these preliminaries are but interludes to pass the time and to amuse the people. In the intervals the several delegations meet in secret to compare notes and draw up plans for the more im. portant procedure of the evening. In one thing only are the delegations from all the States agreed, which is, that Mr. Lincoln shall be nominated for President. Whom to place upon the same ticket for Vice-President is as yet undecided. Mr. Hamlin, the actual Vice-President, does not seem to be a favourite; and the names of Governor Andrew Juhnson, of Tennessee, formerly a tailor and now a gentleman who is popularly known as the "ribboned ox," because he is a renegade from the Democratic party, and declared, while he was yet true to tho faith, that a renegade was like an ox in ancient sacrifices —to be led to slaughter with a riband around:his neck, and who is also celebrated for being the most accomplished adept in the art of speaking Buncombe which the United States have produced, and Mr. Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, have been mentiohed for the post. The first point to be settled, however, is the chairman. ship of the Convention, for which there will be a keen struggle, for the reason that any person who occupies such a position in a nominating Convention has a claim upon the President thereby elected for almost any office in the Government to which he may consider himself entitled. The two most pro minent, though not the most likely candidates, are Mr. Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Raymond, editor of the New York limes ; the former of whom is said to look upon the Secretary ship of State, and the latter upon the Embassy to Paris as his appropriate reward. Although the delegations are unanimous for Mr. Lincoln, they are dissatisfied with Mr. Lincoln's Administration, and are believed to have exacted a promise that he will make a clean sweep of all his Secretaries from Mr. Seward downwards, and appoint a totally new set i of men if he be re-elected. It appears that Mr. Lincoln's friends were unne aessarily alarmed by the statement that a delegation of the supporters of General Fremont or Mr. Chase was in the city and had determined to meet 24 hours in advance of the regular Convention, and declare themselves in favour of the one term prin ciple. If any such meeting was held last night it was held in secret, and the secret has been well kept. Nobody seems to have heard or to know anything about it. It is, clear, however, that the proceedings of the Cleveland Convention—the ac ceptance of the nomination by General Fremont— and the bold denunciatory letter in which he declares that he will oppose Mr. Lincoln, bat no other can didate of the Union party, have fallen like thunder claps from a blue aky among the place•holders, ofpice•seekers, contractors, and shoddyites, who form three-fourths, if not nine-tenths of the Lincoln de legation. They fear that this great disruption of the Republican party—unaccompanied, and not likely to be accompanied, by any similar spirit in the Democratic ranks—will, in the event of General Grant's failure, or the prolongation for the next three months of his bloody and, as yet, bootless campaign, lead to the success of General M'Ciellan. The friends of M'Clellan are delighted. They have discovered in Fremont qualities which they never saw before. They admire his high principle, his stern opposition to illegality, his hatred of the Lin colnian despotism, and almost wish that he would he one of them and come over to the camp of the " Copperheads." The Republican journals in the Lincoln interest either belabour him with hard but harmless words, or affect to pity him for the hope less shipwreck which they assert he has made both of his reputation and his chances. But the truth is, supposing always that Grant be removed from the arena by his non-success in the field, that the real struggle is more likely to be between Generals Fremont and M'Clellan than between Mr. Lincoln and any:other candidate; and that if the contest be decided by popular vote, and not by a military coup d'etat, or the transference of the decision from the body of the people to the House of Representatives,—a contingency that may arise it no candidate out of the many has the atm°s lute majority of the whole number of voters—Mr. Lincoln's chances are the poorest of all. Of course this is not the opinion of the Baltimore Convention. They were sent to nominate Mr. Lincoln, and they will nominate him at ail hazards. JUNE 9. Contrary to expectation the chairmanship of the Convention has been settled without a struggle, neither of the favourites, Cameron or Raymond, having manifested a desire to contest it. The pro visional chairmanship was conferred on Dr. Brecken ridge, of Kentucky, an uncle of General Brecken ridge of the Confederate army, who made a very tru.2.ulent speech, in which he asserted that the liberties of the American people required a great deal of blood to consolidate them, and that the more that was shed the longer the Republic was likely to enduz e. The reverend gentleman, however, did not say that he was prepared to offer up his own blood for the cause which he has at heart, which is perhaps a pity, if it is his intention to make any more such speeches as that with which he inaugu rated the proceedings of the Cinvsntien. The per manent chairman, elected by unanimous vote, vies Mr. Denison, formerly Governor of Ohio, who en tered on his functions in a milder manner and spoke more like a man of business and less like a fiery zea lot than his temporary predecessor. The first busi ness was to decide upon the credentials of the several delegations ; and as Louisiana, Florida, Vir ginia, South Carolina, and even the outlying ter ritories of the Union in the Far West which have not yet arrived at the maturity of States were re presented, it became a matter of some interest to knew how their pretent ions would be received. Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, who has no hope of restoring the Union, and insists upon treat ing the Confederacy as a foreign nati on w i t h w hi c h the Repeve iat s war, objected to allow any dele gates from Southern St a t es i n part i a l occupation of ar mies to be admitt e d, d ec l ar i ng hi s o th p e ini F o e n dra t e ha l t any r ecognition of their claim to seats in the Convention would be the est a bli s h men t o f a fatal principle , that would b e more injurious to the loss of a pit c h e d b attle. After I Fe on d g e Federal cause de ati xc s i e t e t than debatesanthe t 'was decided to admit the delegations, w ith the exce ption of that f rom S ou th Carolina, which was partially composed of negroes. This was a descent from the high po s iti on assume d forby the the bulk ne g r o o f t h ik a r t r. h L e i i n s c a o l ln w , ya Lincoln's supp orters , who claim a s good as a w hi te man, and sometimes a great deal bett er (as most people would admit if they saw Mr. Frederick Douglas and Senator Lane, of Kansas, together, and heard them make speeches). This knotty Point dis posed of, in a manner which can scarcely m eet the approbation of Mr. Wendell Phillips, Mr. Ward Beecher, the strong-minded women, and the Churches, a new diffi cu lty arose as to the admission of a second and anti-Lincoln deputation from Mis souri. Angry debates took place on thesubject, bates the deputation was the only dissentient, and its ad mission could have no e ff ec t upon t h e fi na l d e cision, it was admitted under protest. It registered 22 votes for Gen. Grsnt, but afterwards supported the n0..2:- nation of Mr. Lincoln, which was thus made unani mous. Mr. Hamlin was somewhat contemptuously set aside as Vice-President, and Governor Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, named in his stead, also by a unanimous vote. With the adoption of a "platform,'' or series of resolutions, the proceeding terminated. Nothing further remained but to hold the ratifi cation meeting in the open square in the evening. The peopl e of Baltimore were invited to attend —about Vio people—mostly soldiers, car-drivers, labourers, a n d ne .„. s of the town obeyed thse; a roe sutmthoensfi:boauttintgheproepwualastnioont even a sprinkling of the trading, professional, and wealthy classes to bear them company. A transpa rency was exhibited at the place of meeting, setting old flag wo a ld b ru i se the forth that " the heel of the THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 24, .186 C rattlesnake's head," and a string of violent speeches, of the true Western style and brimful of words that are not ordinarily mentioned to ears polite, were made to the crowd. The proceedings lasted from 8 o'clock till half.past 11, when the Baltimore Con. vention became a thing of the past. The inhabi tants declare that it wan the tamest and most spirit less convention ever held in the city. This morn ing the streets have resumed their normal appear ance, the delegates have departed, the bands are silent, the voice of Buncombe is heard no more in the land, and once again the attention of everybody who has a thought to spare from business is directed to the battle-fields of Virginia, and to the great events that are there to be decided—events that may make an end of Mr. Lincoln as a public man, end render his convention as idle as the silliest speech that was made in it. the machinery of a railway turntable. Here it will be seen at once is a non-exposure of surface to shot and a support and distribution of weight which the American Monitora do not possess—on the contrary, they possess its weakest opposites. In the American Monitors the port stoppers (to protect the crew when loading the gun) are of iron, and swing upon an iron pivot. In the Royal Sovereign they are massive rope mantelets (after the fashion taught us by the Russians at Sebastopol), with cable grummets work, d sailor-fashion round the gun inside the port, sufficiently strong to keep any rifle ball or sprinters from large pro jectiles or shells from entering the port. In the American vessels the guns have no breeching, but trust entirely to a powerful compressor. The Royal Sovereign's gun carriages, on the contrary, have not only powerful com pressors, but they have, as all guns at sea should have, good breechings, with carriages working on in clined planes with great friction. To make this part of our report as clear as possible to the general reader we will here describe the interior of the turrets, the monster guns with which they are armed, and the appliances for working them. The ship's armament consists of live guns, generally known as the 12/-ton gun, or 300 . pounder. The gun's diameter of bore is 101 in, and had they been rifled they Wriald have been .r . J 300-pounders, but as they have I been rifl e d th e y can only throw Isolb spherical shtt, with a 401 b charge of pow der. What the effect of the Royal Sovereign's concentrated five guns' delivery of steel shot, fired with 501 b charges, woilll9lb4eanstdata upon the side of an opposing ironclad would be May be pretty fairly estimated by the fate of the Lord Warden target in the recent experimental firing at Shoeburyness. Two guns are mounted in the forenseat turret, and one in each of the other three turrets, From the plane of the table on which clear i t n ur ta r r e i t or n h m ei stationed e wh sufficiently en the spacious gu ns a f r o e r the guns and their carriages rest, the turrets have each a the crew to move about in and work the guns, In the fore genht most manned—that is, six men to each gun, with a captain or di rector of the tur re t. In th e three single gun turrets 9 men will be stationed—eight men to work the gun and the cap tain of turret. In the -.rat Sovereign the old title of " cap tain of the gun" ' superseded by "captain of the turret," for the giro objee‘ -a are not sighted, nor are th e y t ra i ne d upon an properly speaking; for the sights are fixed upon the top of the turret, and the turret itself by its revolving is trained upon the object, and hence the new neeignation, " captain of the turret." The guns work on a massive plat form, having an incline of 4 degrees, thus greatly checking the recoil, which is about 6 ft, and on reaching which the gun is held there by a powerful pant to enable the crew to re-load it, for which purpose there is ample room between the muzzle of the gun and the turret's port. The shot is whipped up from the deck below by an ingenious contri vance and carried in :6 shot beater to the gun's mouth, where all the loaders have to do is to force it down upon the charge. When the gun is loaded, one man releases it from the paul and runs it out on the inclined plane. The captain then gives the cirections for training the turret, and for elevating or depressing the guns preparatory to firing. Two men elevate and depress each of these heavy pieces without having to go in the rear or behind the gun or car riage. Two of the guns are fitted with the means of eleva tion and depression on Lieutenant Roche's principle, and the remaining three on what is termed the Ordnance plan, which, however, it is only just to say is simply a modifica tion of Lieutenant Rothe's plan. The guns with their carriages and the turrets in which they are mounted appear to have been rendered as complete as possible in all details, even the men's cutlasses and revolvers, with the spare gun breechings and other gear, being all stowed away and to hand in the interstices of the turret : but to the turrets and their guns we intend to refer at much greater length when they have gone through the trial it is intended to subject them to, when the guns will be fired under similar con ditions to what must occur during an actual engagement either with a ship or fort. In the official reports made by the commanders of the American turret vessels in defence of their failing m their attacks upon Charleston. we find the cause of their failt.re clearly stated to arise from circumstances which could not occur on board the Royal Sovereign. Thus the Passaic's turret was jammed by a broken portion of the brass ring at its base. The Nantucket's turret was jammed by nuts and boltheads falling under the base. The Weehawken's turret revolved with difficulty owing to a shot having struck the pilot-house on its top and bent the central spindle; the Nahant's turret refused to turn and became jammed from the effects of two blows from shot about the composbion ring at the base of ihe pilot house. The Nantucket's gun was rendered useless by the j emming of her port-stopper by a shot indentation, - and on another occasion her llin gun was disabled from the carriage not having been properly compressed, Now, it reference is made to oar description of the Royal Sove reign's turrets, it will be seen that no shot can strike their base as with the Passaic; that no boltheads or nuts could stop their revolving as with the Nantucket, nor could any number of blows on the pilot-house affect the turrets in any way as with the Weehawken, from the fact of the Royal Sovereign's pilot-house being an independent structure— nor would her ports bec.rme blocked up by the jamming of iron port-stoppers, because the more sensible plan of rope mantelets has been adopted in her case—nor could her gun carriages become disabled owing to the serious fault of hav ing only cne means of control over their movement. We think the comparison has thus been pursued sufficiently far to make clear the main differences existing between our turret ship Royal Sovereign and the turret ships belonging to foreign Powers, and also the vast superiority, excepting in her draught of water, of our own turret ship over the laminated armour turret vessels of the American and Rus sian navies, and we shall low proceed to narrate the events of yesterday's trial, preen sing that the Royal Sovereign now figures in the , fficial Navy Lige as an iron cased cupola ehtp of 3,963 tons, driven 'by engines of 800 horse power (by Mandalay, Sons, and Fiell;, driving a common two-bladed screw of- 18ft diameter, and her length is 250 ft, and her ex treme breadth 631 t. The Controller of the Navy arrived at Portsmouth by the first train from London yesterday morning, and immediately proceeded to the doe.; yardand on board the Royal Sovereien —which was lying with steam up in readiness. Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, G C.B. (Port Admiral and Naval Commander-in-Chiel), Rear Admiral George Elliot (Super intendent of Portsmou'h Dockyard), and Rear Admiral S. C. Mores, C. 8., accompanied Rear Admiral Robinson on board the ship, where a large number of other naval officers were assembled to witness the trial, including Captain Hall, R.N., private secretary to the Duke of Simerset ; Captain Sh'rard Osborn, C. 8., the future captain of the ship; Captains A. A. Cochrane, C,8., G. P. Hornby, C.B , A. Phillimore Preedy, C.B , and H. Wills, of the Channel fleet ; J. B. Dickson, of the Irresistible, screw liner; Com mander Simpson of the Victoria and Albert R yal yacht, and others. Mr. Evans, from the Hydrographer's Depart ment at the Admiralty, was also present, regarding the ship's compasses. Captain H. Caldwell, C. 8., commanding her Majesty's ship Asia and the steam reserve, at Potts• mouth, was in command, and conducted the day's trials. The Royal Sovereign steamed out of harbour for Spithead immediately Admiral Robinson came on board, her draught of water being 211 t 2in forward, and 24it 10in aft, her ton sides (not measuring her iron bulwarks, but from the top of her side armour plating to the water-line) being 7tt Gin out of water amidships. Her engines were kept at slow steam was put on and the ship put through her runs at the int asured mile with full and half boiler power. At full power the engines made 52 revolutions per minute, and the true mean speed of four runs was 11.006 knots per hour. At half power two runs were made, the engines giving 421 revolutions, the mean speed being B'l7l knots. In the most successful trial the ship made as an unmasted three-decker just fitted with her new machinery she realised with full boiler power a speed of 12'252 knots, but it was a calm, and her draught of water was only 18ft Bin forward and 21st Pin aft. This gives an increased immersion of the ship yester terday of fully 31t, and the ship had also to contend against a strong westerly breeze, whereas on her three-decker trial it was a calm. Allowing, therefore, for the ship's increased immersion, and the difference in the weather, the difference in the ship's speed is satisfactorily accounted for, although an additional half knot might have been attained, but for the defective draught in the fires, which only admitted of an average pressure of 171 b of steam being obtained instead of full 201 b. This defect will, however, boat once remedied by lengthening the funnel left. t he ship has been cut down, and the funnel has also been cut down until it has a preposterously short length from its top to the top of the fire•gate. It is a matter easily remedied, and the ship will then obtain abundance of steam from the boilers for the service of her engin es . The ship was next t es t e d in ma king circles, to ascertain her turning powers, with full and half boiler power, with results as follows : Full-power.---To port, with ordinary whoa on dock.— Helm got up in 1 min, to an angle of rudder of 161 deg. The half circle made in 3 min 21 sec, and the full circle in 6 min 35 sec. Revolutions of engines 52 to 49. To star board—Helm got up in 50 sec, with an angle of rudder 201 deg. The half circle made in 3 min 30 sec and the full circle in 6 min 51 sec. Revolutions of engines as before. Half-power, with ordinary wheel on deck— To starboard —Helm got up in 1 min 30 see, with the rudder to an angle of 24 deg. The half circle made in 4 min 9 sec, and the full circle in 7 min 31 sec. Revolutions of engines 33 to 36. _..„. Half-power, with pilot-house whecl, which is fitted with multiplying power—To port—Helm up in 1 min 30 sec, with the rudder at an angle of 401 deg. The half circle made in 3 non 8 sec, and fulk circle in 6 min 4 sec. To starboard— Helm up in 1 min 10 sec, with the rudder at an angle of 39 deg. The half circle made in 3 min 16 roc, and the full circle in 6 min 34 sec. The revolutions of the engines were in both instances from 38 to 26. There is a remarkable dif ference shown here in the angles of the rudder obtained with the two wheels, being no less than 404 deg by the pilot house wheal against 161 deg obtained by the ordinary wheel on desk. The diameter of the circle made by the ship was much less with the pilot-house wheel in use than it was with the deck-wheel in use. The temperatures were—during the first run at the tu fa . sured mile—on deck 61 deg ; engine room, forward, 66 deg, aft, 67 deg; stoke hole, fore part, 108 deg., middle, 102 deg, after part, 72 deg; 4th run at the measured mile —on th. e k , 66 deg, angina room, forward, 68 deg, after part, 72 deg. Stoke hole, fore part, 108 deg, middle 112 dog, after part, 81 deg. This concluded the trial of the ship at the measured mile, wt ,en, in consequence of the lateness of the tide, she was steel red back into Portsmouth harbour, and moored in her old position alongside the dockyard, which she will most probably lea'e again to-day to met the working of her s.tithors and chains. The most interesting portion of her trials, however, will be her run outside the Isle of Wight, and the firing of !her guns in different positions, and there is every reason to helie+ , e this trial will prove to be quite as setiefastor'y as the speed trial of yesterday: The chit; was very steady, and very little movement of any kind was felt when racing over the course at the mile, except a slight lateral movement in her turrets. Any recurrence of a sib ilar accident to that which occurred on her late prelia minary trial trip has been proVided against as far as possible by fitting expansion joints, Sic., to her stop-valve boxes, but the real value of these remedial measures can only be tested in moderately rough weather off the Wight. The ventila tion of the mess and berthing deck of the ship yesterday appeared to be perfect, and there was also plenty of light. The officers' cabins are unusually lofty (gained from the arched deck), and they also have abundance of light. The ship's framing is ventilated on the plan of Staff-Surgeon Edmonds of her Majesty's ship Victory, and on measuring yesterday the etrength of the current of air that was passing ttp from the vessel's hold and bilges by the air shafting into the ship's funnel it was found to be moving at the rate of 31ift per second, equal to 225,000 cubic feet per hour. During the time the ship was making her full boiler power runs et the mile Admiral Robinson, with Admirals Sir M. Seymour, Elliot, and Dacres, entered the third turret and examined its sights for training and its general fittings, together with the 150-pounder gun and its system of elevation and depression—the different points of interest being pointed out and explained by Captain Cowper P. Coles, R.N. It is a remarkable fact that these monster guns of the Royal Sovereign attain an amount of elevation such as can be given to no other covered gun in the navy-18 deg. The Royal Sovereign has so far, ae we said at the coraa mencement of this report, proved a great success. She is without doubt the most formidable ironclad afloat, provided she has water of sufficient depth to manoeuvre in, and we think the country may rest satisfied that, under the com mand of so distinguished an officer as Captain Sherard Os born, if she should ever be brought under fire, she will do honour to the British sag. Naval and Military Intelligence, M. de Quaade, Danish Plenipotentiary in Lon don, and two attaches of the Legation, yesterday went over the departments of Woolwich Arsenal. Their visit to the establishment had been announced and was expected to take place on Monday last by a special memorandum from the War-office, i❑ which the heads of departments were requested to afford them the facilities necessary for their inspec tion. The principal object of their visit yesterday appeared to be to inspect the laboratory, shell, and s'iot foundry, and the Armstrong gun factory. To heir inspection of the latter department they de voted nearly two hours. The Transit, chartered transport, from Corfu, hay ing discharged her cargo of returned military stores, y esterday hauled off the pier at Woolwich arsenal. Her Majesty's ironcased ship Prince Albert, re cently launched at Mtllwall has been received into the basin at Woolwich, to be fitted with Captain Coles's three cupola batteries, which have been built up by the shipwrights at Woolwich during the construction of the ehip in the builder's yard, and are now ready for disposal. Her Majesty's screw sloop Racer was yesterday commissioned at Woolwich by Commander Saurez for, it is stated, the West Coast of Atrica. Mr. G. W. Muir, who recently paid off the paddlewhee. sloop Ardent at Woolwich, from the south-east coast of America, when he obtained his promotion. has been appointed Paymaster to the Racer. The Torch, 5 screw gunboat, having, since being docked at Chatham, undergone a careful survey at the hands of the master shipwright's staff, has been found in such a generally rotten condition that her repairs will detain her in dock some considerable rime longer than was originally anticipated. The exterior four-inch planking has been ripped off her sides, and the rotten condition of her timbers is easily perceptible. Although the Torch was only built some three oc four years since, and has only been once in commission, many of her midship tim bers were found, on inspection, to be so rotten as to crumble to powder under the fingers. The Torch, it may be observed, is a contract built vessel, and in this respect bears a remarkable contrast to the Cadmus, 21, built at Chatham dockyard, and now under repair in the adjoining dock to that in which the Torch is lying. Although constructed about 15 years ego, since which she has been in constant commission, the timbers of the Cadmus are as sound as when cut in the dockyard, and no trace of decay can be detected. The required number of non-commissioned officers and men having been obtained for the survey com panies of Royal Engineers, orders have been received at headquarters, Chatham, directing volunteering for that branch of the corps to be discontinued until further orders. The men who have been transferred from the depot and other companies at headquarters to the survey companies have been put through a special course of instruction in topography, military drawing, and surveying at the schools attached to headquarters, in order to qualify them for the duties on which they will be engaged. The companies of Royal Engineers employed on the Oranance survey are the 13th, 14th, 16th, and 19th. The 2d (Capt Franklin's) company of Royal En gineers has received orders to embark for the Mau ritius, to relieve the 25th company, which returns to headquartt:rs, Chatham, after an absence from England of nine years. Capt. Alfred P. Ryder, Controller-General of the Coastguard,is appointed Aide-de camp to the Queen, vice Capt. Edgell, promoted to be Rear Admiral, The following appointments have been made at the Admiralty—Lieut. Berkeley G. A. 13:-.inn to the Formidable—John R. N. Moss, master, to the Asia—Henr:, - N. Alteyue and Arthur C. Jenner, midshipmen, to the Racer—Arthur S. Leacock, G. C. Young, and Wm. N. M %clan, midshipmen, to the Fawn—John Murdock, assist.-engineer, to the Ri. coon—George J. H. Hogg, master's assist., to the Racer—Joshua J. Gormally, clerk, to the Prince Consort. The Case of Mr, Bewieke. The select committee report that, in their opinion, Mr. Bewicke is not entitled to any compensation out of the pubic purse. They are of opinion that, in order to lay any ground for a claim to such com pensation, it was incumbent upon Mr. Bewicke to prove that there had been a miscarriage of justice in his case, through the default of the persons charged with the administration of the law. And the committee, after careful inquiry, were satisfied that there was no such default. They are unable to accede to the proposition, that persons who have been convicted in due course of law by evidence subsequently proved to be false, are entitled to com pensation out of the public purse ; but even if they could have acceded to such a proposition, there are circumstances in Mr. Bewicke's case that would have taken it out of such general rule ; Mr. Bewicke's own conduct, as admitted by himself, having fur nished material evidence in support of the accusa tion against him, independently of other facts de posed to by witnesses of unimpeachable character. In the peculiar circumstances of the case they sug gest for the favourable consideration of the Crown, whether the full value of his goods and chattels at the time of the forfeiture should not be restored to him, minus the net produce of the sale by auction, already voluntarily paid over to Mr. Bewicke by the commissioners. LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES.—A return just presented to the House of Lords, on the motion of Lord 0 verstoce, states that since the Joint-stock Companies Act of 1856 came into operation 3,830 limited liabili y com panies have been registered ; 938 of them have been wound up or are supposed to have been discontinued, leaving 2,892 still in operation. These companies proposed to make their shareholders liable for £129,103,622, that being the amount of their nominal capital. The following figures are greatly below the fact, the returns for the last 12 months not hav ing been received in many cases, but it has been ascertained that there were 209,126 shareholders, that of the 42,085,078 gilares into which the capital was divided 10,110,558 had been taker, and that calls amounting to .£37,195,59 , 5 had been received. [ADVERTISEMENT —Holloway's Ointment and Pills.— Conclusive E v id ence.—Scarcely a day passes without leaving behind it some proof of the curative powers of Holloway's world-esteemed Ointment and Pills, A lady writes from New 011erton, Notts, on March 7, 1864 :—" I beg leave to state that a f ew wee k s ago I had the misfortune to bruise my leg most s evere l y. T o my great surp r ise i r ise and delight your womierful remedies were no sooner applied than they gave me ease, stopped inflammation, and made a perfect cure i n an i ncred ib le short time," Testimonials such as the f orego i ng, w hi ch might be multiplied to any extent, should console the Billeted and give hope to the despairing when worn out by the maladies which seem unrelievable, THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN, This vessel made her official trial of speed and power of circling with full and reduced steam pressure yesterday, at the trial ground in Stokes Bay, near Portsmouth, tender the personal superintendence of Rear-Admiral R. S. Robinson, Controller of the Neer, and by the success which attended the day's proceedings the public may be fairly congratulated on another and most formidable craft having been added to our list of effective ironclads, really effective in the sense that at 24 hours' notice she could join the Channel fleet, and accompany it if necessary for active service in the Baltic. We must preface our account of yesterday's trial with a brief description of the ship and her present appearance, for the Royal Sovereign as now completed is a different vessel in many respects from what she was intended to be at the first commencement of the work of her conversion. This is but a natural result following upon the execution of so novel a work, where every one engaged was very possibly feeling his way, and improving upon the details as the ship grew into her new form. The time occupied in the conversion has undoubtedly been long, and the cost has also undoubtedly been great, yet every one who may go over the ship will be compelled to admit that the result is satisfactory, and • :nat the Royal Sovereign has an appearance of efficie- -ley about her that very few anticipated, and is far mgr eye when seen clear from other Burrow- sightlyes to the on the j water than could have been expec -ding obct clear of the harbour and retie . : Yeetenday, on getting /rang the 'open water at Spit head, she looked with he . - x but wraith up and short masts just n .e ct ler capping the funnel 'Like nen gigantic gunboat unde r j ury rig. With her 'bulwarks down s h e p resents the now well known I ‘ l anitor tree of form, h er t urre t s s h owing out more d in their positions along the ridge of th e curve d e. iesetki Much of her raft like appearance which she possessed a few months back has been taken away by a light iron bul wark 3ft 6in in depth, which has been fitted round her upper deck, and which throws down outwards on hinged stan chions. The three short signal or drying poles with which she has been fitted also tend to improve her appearance, but they would have done so far more effectively had they been of greater length. Stepping on to the Royal Sovereign's upper deck we at once see its curved or " turtle-backed" shape, and along the orest of this curve stand the four tur rets and pilothouse, funnel and casing, hatchways, masts (if such puny sticks may be so termed), ventilating shafts, tie. Round the stern are carved the Royal arms in bold re lief, and surmounting the stemhead is the figurehead of the ship, a well-executed crowned lion, 5 ft 6in in length by 4ft in height, with bristling mane and half-lifted paw. Ex cepting the figure of the lion, everything above the deck is painted white. The fcremost turret, standing at abovr the deck, has its top covered by a grating, and is surrounded by a handrail, and thus affords a deck promenade for theofficer of the watch or look-out man, and communicates with a further space available for the same purpose on the top of the pilot-house, which stands next to it, and on the top of the funnel casing. The three single gun-turrets are 4ft Sin above the deck, and have a double line of rails 20 inches in depth round their tops to stow the men's hammocks in, and which will thus form capital rifle pits. The tops of the tur rets are closed by heavy angle iron and inch-plating with the necessary man and ventilating holes. All other aper tures which open down below from the upper deck are closed by wrought iron bars 41in by llin,placed in massive wrought iron framing edgewise 41in apart, and thus prevent the entrance of shell or shot by those passages to the 'tween decks. The carved upper deck of the vessel appears at first sight to be dangerously " soft" when looked at in close proximity to the massive armour of the sides and turrets, nothing being visible but wooden planking. In truth, how ever, this deck is not quite so vulnerable as it appears to be. The wooden planking, Gin in thickness, is laid upon iron plates lin in thickness, the latter having all their butts and sides riveted together with wide straps of iron of the same thickness, and further strengthened by stringer-lines of inch plating running fore and aft and round the hatchways and funnel casing. This combined iron and wooden deck is laid upon rolled iron beams and the original wooden beam. of the ship, which are fixed so closely together that even if a shot or shell penetrated through both iron and wooden deck it would be difficult for it to force e. further passage through to the deck below. The probable influx of water had also to be provided against, for with her bulwarks down and heavy guns at work in the Channel, with a breeze on, there is no doubt a considerable quantity of water might wash over the deck. To meet this contingency therefore stout leather flaps, metal-weighted at their outer edges, are fixed round the turrets, and effectually close the open space in the deck against the admission of any great quantity of water. Iron coamings nearly three feet in depth are fitted to all the hatchways, &c., for the same purpose. The pilot house is an oval structure, plated with 5j inch armour, and stands between the foremost turret and tunnel casing. In side it affords to the captain and master, or other officer, a perfectly secure means of observation in every direcion) and a means of communication with the engine room, tur rets, and all parts of the ship, either by ordinary sh p's telegraph or voice tube, while right underneath and in sight of those in the pilot-house is fixed the wheel for steering the ship. The two chief boats are carried on crutches amid ships between the centre turrets. We heve so recently given detailed descriptions of the Royal Sovereign's fitting a a turret ship and her conversion from a three-decker that it will be only necessary on the present occasion to further refer generally to the subject, and enter again into any de tails only sufficient to describe the actual differences existing between our experimental turret ship and those which are in the possession of other powers, from the greater number of which she materially differs either in form of hull, nature of armour disposition, and the fitting of her turrets, rke. As a cut-down three-decker she differs from all others of her class—in her form of hull below the water-line, where she carries the original three-decker or V form of bottom, in• creased in its displacement some nine feet downwards from he water-line by the lower tier of armour plates and its strengthening backing, outside the ship's hull proper and supporting shelf, to the plates' lower edge, of a double thick ness of 41 inch teak planking, laid on diagonally, She differ s from most others in her turrets revolving by four different appliances of power, by hand—by rack and pinion inside the turret; do. outside and a fixture on lower deck ; tackles, and handspikes shipped and manned like capstan bars, in lieu of one method only—by steam. In her armour she also differs from all the American vessels of the same description, from the 15 Russian Monitors now aloat in the Baltic, and from several built by other Powers, in its being composed of solid forgings, or, more correctly speaking, of solid rolled plating,iostead of a number of inch or inch-and-half plates bolted together, as is the case with the American and Russian Monitors in part cular. Both Americans and Russians, however, admit that solid masses of metsl are preferable for protective armour, whether for ships or forts, to the same or even a much greater weight of iron divided into inch thicknesses and bolted together by in numerable bolts; but they - point to theneceseity which existed in their case for the speedy creation of their Monitors, in the one ease for the capture of Charleston and other ports in the possession of the American Confederate States, and in the other for the protection of Cronstadt and Sweaborg. It is in the disposition of her turrets, however, that the Royal Sovereign differs most from the American Monitors, and, as the commanders of the latter vessels have found it necessary to "assign reasons for their failing to capture Charelston" in their combined attack upon that place, a comparison of the turrets on board the Royal So vereign and those of the American vessels cannot fail to be otherwise than interesting at a time when our first turret ship has made, under official supervision, her maiden essay under steam. We propose to pursue this comparison under four heads only :-1. Exposed height of turret above the deck. 2. Turret's support at base when revolving or repelling shcck when struck by shot. 3. Jamming of port stoppers or mantelets. 4. Disabling of gun-carriages. The American Monitors' turrets are 9 feet in height above the upper deck, on which, indeed their base rests on a brass ring, When thus resting on the upper deck it has no means of revolving, so that when the turret is prepared for action it has to be lifted from off the deck by a screw wedge driven into the base of a spindle upon the deck below (and which spindle bears the same relation to the turret as does the spindle of an ordinary ship's capstan), and then is revolved, resting upon this single central spindle by geard wheels driven by steam, the whole weight of the turret being above the plane of the deck exposed to the enemy's fire, and the turret itself further capped by the "pilot house" —another mass of lamin a t e d i ron , m a ki ng t h e whole structure, which is dependent for its free movement, and consequent efficiency, upon the continued perfect per pendicularity of the iron spindle in its centre, 13ft 6in in height. Contrast this with the Royal Sovereign's turrets. All four of her turrets have their base and working portion resting upon the lower and not the upper deck, as with the American and thus, instead of exposing a height of 13ft 6in toan shot,turret, , 5 t theyft Only show—i n th e f oremost or double en gunemyt's u above the d ec k—i n t h e t h ree after or single-gun turrets, Oft Sin abov e th e d eck. In the support given to the turrets at their base when in actin there is also a remarkable difference. The American turret depends solely upon the perfect perpendicularity of its central spindle,like the peg of a boy's top when spinning. The Royal Sovereign's, on the contrary, distribute their weight over a large space. The table upon which the turret stands is pivoted in its centre upon a wrought-iron cylinder, sufficiently large fora man to pass through, while the weight is distributed on bevilled wheels over a metal roadway equal ling the turret's circumference in a manner very similar to SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TlMES.—Yesterday both houses were crowded to hear the Ministerial explanations whi c h it was thought mast follow the important meeting of the Conference on Wednesday. Seldom has such anxiety been shown for the appearance of a Minis ter in his place as preceded the arrival of Lord Palmerston in the House of Commons ; seldom have the tedious gentlemen who begin the evening's business been listened to with more obvious demon strations of impatience. The curiosity of the public was, however, not destined to be fully gratified. The Conference meets again to-morrow, and though it is known that at this meeting it is likely only to transact some formal business, the Govern ment is not at liberty to presume that negotiations arc at an end. As long as the Conference lasts it is possible that some proposition may be made tend. ing to the restoration of peace, and it would be pre mature, therefore, to make any announcement im plying that a final rupture has taken place. The crisis is so serious and the deliberations on which the Ministry must enter are so important that every one will rejoice that they have three or four daya to consider their situation and their policy. The Cabi net will meet to-morrow, and on Monday next the Premier will lay on the table of the house the pro. ceedings of the Conference, and will make a state ment on the important subjects which have occupied its attention. The country will then have an oppor tunity of judging how far its honour has been main tained in the past transactions, and how far the re commendations of the Government deserve its con fidence for the future. Of one thing, however, we may, happily, be certain. The protocols of the Con ference will make known not only how constant and urgent have been the efforts of the British represen tatives to devise means for the preservation of peace, but also how greatly the foreign members of the Con ference, including those most opposed to our views, have valued and acknowledged the good faith and courtesy of our Government. Whatever may be the end of the negotiations, no one will charge us, and we shall not have to charge ourselves, with any fault of the nature either of rudeness or of deceit. Our representatives have neither allowed their convic tions to hurry them into any bitterness of expression, nor their policy to lead them into any dissembling of their intentions. They have with perfect fairness and courtesy explained the principles on which they take their stand, and convinced every one, both ally and adversary, that their only desire has been to maintain the peace of Europe, and to pre vent. if possible, an ancient end respectable State from being despoiled in pursuance of theories which, if carried out, would bring humiliation on the great German Powers themselves. We believe the Pleni potentiaries of each State will be found ready to confess that if war, prolonged and embittered, is to he the fate of Northern Europe, the fault is not to be attributed to the counsels of our statesmen. As regards the foreign members of the Conference thw opinion of our Government is equally favourable. They have, as far as they have exercised any inde pendent judgment, shown a tendency to di-cuss the proposals submitted to them in a fair and friendly spirit, and it is probable that had they been empowered to deliberate and decide, and not re. striated to the communication of decisions made e,sewhere, the result of the Conference might have been different. As it is, they have been delegates acting strictly under the instructions of statesmen who had come to a foregone conclusion on all the subj, chi in debate. They will separate with mutual rood will and respect, though perhaps with no high notion of the advantages to be ghine d from such meetings as those in which they have played a decorous part for the past few weeks. The German Plenipotentiaries will, however, be able to inform their Governments from personal observation that in no class of English society has there been any animosity ag> inst their country or any wish to humble it, but that the action of Government and people has been influenced only by a convic. tion that the Danish Government was defending rights which it is for the general advantage to maintain. The Conference has failed ; but we think it really desired its own success, The time and labour may not have been wholly lost if some of its members carry back to their own countries a conciliatory temper, which may have its consequences when they are placed in positions of more real power. However, all is over, and it is for Her Majesty's Government to decide what is the course now to be taken. In what way should a great nation act which finds that its efforts to restore peace among its neighbours have been made in vain For several months, by constant communication with both parties, by alternate advice and remonstrance, by counsels that were generally wise, mingled here and there with expressions that may have been im prudent, the Government of this country has sought to hinder the deplorable events of which a new series will begin on Monday next. Both sides have lis tened to us with an outward show of respect, but have in the end followed the bent of their own in stincts and taken to war, because in wbr they have seen their best prospect of gaining their respective ends. The Germans would fight because a campaign gives them Schleswig; the Danes because they fancy that war, by calling others to their assistance, will give them the whole or part of the Duchy in absolute possession, while a continuance of the old relations without the Constitution of November would in no long time alienate Schleswig as much as Holstein, In the last act of this drama the situation of the leading personages is as strange as can be im a gin e d. Prussia and Austria on the one side, and Denmark on the other, the invaders and the invaded, the tyrants and their victim, are found entirely agreed on the subjects in dispute. Each party rejects our scheme of arbitration, each natty desires to settle the matter by the sword. England addresses useless remonstrances to both, and to strengthen her pacific representation turns in vain to France and Russia, who on their part affect unconcern, and look on the unequal combat with a feeling no stronger than curiosity. This is, no doubt, a most embarrassing pssition for a neural Power which has pronounced strongly in favour of peace. We find that the belligerents do not accept it, that the other neutrals are indifferent about it, and that the only way that we can promote it seems to be by going to war ourselves, and choosing as our ally one of the two parties who have rejected our pro sale. It is a matter that will call for all the delibe raton which the experienced statesmen at the head of afftirs can give it during the next three days. Whatever may be the duty of this country will, we feel sure, be readily undertaken by all classes; and her Majesty's Government need have no tear of lacking support in any measure which may be necessary to maintain the honour and interests of the nation or the general safety of Europe. If these be endangered by the contest which is to recom mence on Sunday, if the Government be really able to show Parliament that on the fields of Schleswig great English interests are at stake, whether mate rial or moral, there will be no unwillingness on the part of the nation to act with vigour. If assured on these points, Parliament would be bound seri ously to consider whether the policy of mediation which has been hitherto practised should be aban doned for one of a less peaceful character. This most weighty question, with all its momentous issues, we leave for the present to the Government, bt lieving that it will be time enough to discuss any proposal for a change of the national policy when that proposal has been made on the responsibility of the Cabinet, Post—For some time past numerous complaints have been made from year to year against the laws which regulate the registration of voters. Last autumn, while the revision courts were at work throughout the country, these complaints were more load than Usual, Thousands of voters in different districts, whose right td the franchise was tound to be undoubted, were compelled to appear before the revising barrister under pain of losing their electoral privileges; in those counties, especially, where the two great political parties are pretty equally divided, the complaints of indignant electors were numerous beyond all precedent ; and the grievance was, in truth, not a light one. It is hard to have a right put in jeopardy by the mere caprice of a political opponent, and to be put to the alternative of either losing it altogether, or of being obliged to d e f en d it a t m uch inconvenience, and often at considerable cost. The resultvo i or ls that this policy of objecting to votes upoofr i frivolous w un h d ole wh t o o o insufficient grounos is found upon answer. Many persons wilt be f alwa ys the to defending their omit, to take the proper means electoral rights. Some positively refuse to 'eke th e trouble; others, through inadvertence, fail to com ply wi , h the r. qu irements of the . act of Pa, ham( nt ; s peculative e l e a t t i i o v e e er o r b i j n e; objections , 4 4 : 3 11 r t e h'y turned a e p an o d p t e h ri u y s te t r h m es e e d to eg very istr good reg istration account in the an nua l b attle of the It is true th a t th e grievance i n qu estion is not without a remedy. Th e rev i s i ng r t courts. barrister, if satisfied that a frivolous objection has b een m ade to any vote, may order the objector to pay costs to the amount of 20s. The inadequacy of this sum in uses of county voters is notorious. In order to defend bis vote a min is often required to produce his title deeds, which are probably in the hands of his solicitor in the county town, or, it may be, in London. But wherever they may happen to be, and whatever may be their antiquity or their bulk, some ono must be employed to bring them to the registration court, and 20s. is the utmost amount which their owner can recover in the shape of costa tor any expense he may have incurred. There it , another grievance connected with these objection, which render them still more vexatious. The parts whose right to vote is disputed has no means of as certainiog the ground wh;ch his adversary means t, take until they are confronted in the whole court He must, therefore, come prepared at all points to defend his right, nod the trouble and, expense to London: Prinzed and Prt , llshed Dy WILLIAIIIANDREWS of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at 'DIE SuN Office No. 112, Strand, al tht , Precinct of the lavoy, n the Counll 31 MitPalseex.—Friday, June 21, 1844. which he is put may thus be cousioerabiy increased. Such are a few of the most prominent grievances to which the present system of registration gives rise, and which, after the lapse of two-and -twenty years, an attempt is now being made to remove , allude to the Bill for the Amendment of the Registration of County Voters, introduced by Mr. Dodson, which, we understand, will probably receive the sanction of the Legislature during the present session. Several of the provisions of this bill are intended to remedy the evils which we have shortly described. One section provides that an objections, with the exception of those officially made by the overseers, must " set forth in specific terms the ground, or several grounds, of objection upon which it is intended to rely. And the same section provides that no person so objected to shall be required to defend his vote before the revision court upon any other point than that upon which he has received due notice. This would prove a serious check upon the present vexatious system of objecting to votes upon frivolous grounds, or, as is very frequently the case, upon no grounds at all. Nor would it leave the bona fide objector the smallest ground of complaint, for it would be easy for him to state his true reasons, if he had any, for objecting to his neighbour's vote. The points to be discussed before the revising barrister would thus appear on the notice of objection. and, these being at once disposed of, there would be au end of the case. No fishing questions would be allowed, with the view of detecting some flaw in an adversary's title, other than that set forth in the notice which the latter has received. Much irre levant and irritating discussion would be thus avoided, which, from the uncertainty at present at tending the nature of objections, is at times likely to arise. Another important provision, intended to protect county voters from needless annoyance, is contained in the 22d section of the proposed bill. By this section any person whose vote has been objected to may make a declaration upon oath in avewer to the grounds of objection alleged against it, and setting forth the facts upon which he relies. This declaration is afterwards to be transmitted to the clerk of the peace for the county, and notice of this fact is to be sent to the objector. If, not withstanding this declaration, and the reasons by which it is supported, the objector still persist in contesting the point, and he lei's, the revising barrister is to be empowered to make him pal costs to the amount of £5 ; that is. five times the amount which it, any case can at present be imposed. In ordinary cases in which the psrty objected to has not made a decluratien on (An in answer to the notice of objection, but has simply appeared and defended his vote in the court of revision, the barrister is to be em powered to give costs to the extent of £3 if he is satisfied rhut 'he abjection is frivolous and vexatious. These provisions, and others to which we need not now refer, appear to be well calculated to protect voters from annoyances to which they are now notoriously subject. It is also proposed to cast various additional duties upon the clerks of the peace and the overseers, which, we should imagine, will lead to a considergble incre se o: expense. But considering that the present Registration Act has been in force since the year 1842, we need not be surprised that it should now require amendment. Upon the whole it has not worked bidly, otherwise it would not have remained so long unaltered. But experience has clearly showy that it may be made to cause much unnecessary annoyance to those for whose protection it was especially designed—we mean all bona 4de possessors of the franchise. We believe that the bill before the House of C o mmons will much diminish, it it does not remove, the evils that are now complained of. COUNTRY MARKETS. MANCHESTER-THURSDAY. A somewhat better attendance at our market to-day, but English wheat was in short supply, and held for an ad vance of is to 2s per qr, whim checked sales, but a fair business occurred at an improvement of ls. American brought 2d per 100 lb over previous quotations. Flour was held for an amendment of is per sack, but only a limited business. Oats and oatmeal in steady demand at former rates. English and Egyptian beans were 6d dearer. In Indian corn also there was a rise of 6d. BURTON- ON-TR. A fair show of grain at our ENT—THURSDAY. market, and prices advanced Is to 2s per qr. Old white wheat ..42s to 46s Old red wheat„. 37s to 40s New do. . 42s to 46s New do. 3Bs to 41s Malting barley....32s to 35s Oats 19s to 28s Grinding d0.....285 to 30s I Beans 34s to 425 BIRMINGHAM—THURsDAY. There was a fair supply of English wheat at market to day, but the sale was dull, and last week's prices were ad vanced is per qr. Barley was more inquired for. Beans and oats were held for Wily late prices Peas rather dearer. —English wheat was sold at 40s to 44s for white, and 36e to 42s per 36 stone for red. Barley, new malting, 30s to 38s per qr ; grinding, 24s to 26s Oats, old, 22s to 30s per 30 stone ; Irish, 18s to 245. Beans, 36a to 40a per qr. Peas, 34s to 38s per 36 stone. BRISTOL—TinmsDAT. A good supply of English wheat at market, for which farmers asked extravagant prices, hat on the sales (ffected the advance made was not over le to 2s per qr. Fureign wheat sold freely at le advance upon late quotations. Oats • were in active request, and fiel dearer. Grinding blrley in good demand at a similar advance. Beans and Indian corn were the turn higher in prise. EDINBURGH GRAIN-JUNE 22. To• day there was a good supply of grain, which sold at about last week's prices. Wheat on the top Os 6d up ..... average Os 9d up. Barley on the top 3s Od down average Os bd down. Oats on the top is Od down. Beans on the top is Od down average Os 2d up. Avel age Prices. Wheat. Barley Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ..1224 qrs Sold 981 qrs 8ar1ey........ 22 s qrs Sold 129 qrs Oats 1493 qrs Sold 1106 qrs Beans 1 0 qrs Sold 76 qrs _ . Flour sells as follows :—Whites, 38s Od ; extras, 3Gs Od superfine, 34a Od ; fine, 328 lid. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. &ustralla and Mauritius, via Southampton . June --- - via Marseilles July 14. brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. July 5. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and Si. Helena. June 29 China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. June -- via Marseilles Juno 27• Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton June 7. via Marseilles June 27 India (Bombay), via Southampton June 25 via Marseilles July 5 Portuga 1.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton June --.— via Marseilles July 5 • Newfoundland .. June 22. Oporto and Vigo C. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... June 30. by U.S. packet.... by Canadian packet. June 24. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, J J ane 28. California, and British Columbia.. FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT THE RICHMOND STATlON.—Yesterday afternoon, about half-past 3 o'clock, a shocking occurrence took place near the Richmond station of the Windsor branch of the London and South- Western Railway. A man, whose name is believed to bo Smith, while attempting to cross the railway was knocked down by one of the down trains, the engine and carriage? of which passed over his body and limbs, frightfully mangling the unfortunate man and causing instantaneous death. As sosn as the dreadful accident was perceived, the remains of the poor fellow were removed from the s p ot where he was killed and taken to the dead h ouse at Richmond to awa it the coroner's inquest. Tftf , decea sed, it is s t ated, was a foreman to a builder. This branch of the South-Western Railway has lately been singularly unfortunate with regard to occurrences of this kind. Births. BARRY. - On the 23d inst., at Elmfield, Bromley-comma, die wife of Charles Barry, jun., Et.q of a son. LORD.—One prematurely ,of a inst., s a o t n. Sydenham, the wife of Capt. Lord, PAPILLON —Oa the 22d inst., at 1, Devonport-street , e- park, the wife of Phillip 0. Papillon, Esq.. MY 0, a son and heir. WESTPITAL.—On th. 22d inat., rit Clifton Cottage, Tulsa• hill, Mrs. Webtptial, of a son. Marriages. MASSEY—FLETCHER —On the 22d inst., at Saint Marys Norwich, Benjamin, fourth son of Riehd.MasseYt Esq , of Altrincham, Cheshire, to Emma, elder daughter of Josiah Fletcher, Esq., of Norwich. TYS@EN—LousAve. — On tne 21st inst., at Saint Nichola s Cheach, Sidmouth, Captain Tyssen, R.N., of Clanville Lodge, Hants, to Mary Jane, second daughter of John B. Lousada, Esq., Peak House, Sidmouth, Devon. Deaths. CRADOCK.—On the 17th inst., at his residence, Humber stone-gate, Leicester, Sheldon Cradock, Esq., aged 86. CRAVEN.—On the 21st lost , at 14, Park-street, Grosvenor square, the Hon. Frederick Keppel Craven, aged 52. GEARY.—On the 23d inst., at North-end, Fulham, Thos. Geary, Esq , aged 94. JARMAN.—On the 21st inst., at 15, Belgrave. road, High" gate, Miss Anne Jarman, aged 69 KiNft.—Oa the 21st inst., at Longfield Court, Kent, the Rev. James King. rector of Longfield, aged 63. MATRIA.S.—On the 21st inst., at Southend, the Rev. Wm. Mathias, incumbent of Bartle, Somersetshire, aged 48. STAIIIK.—On the 22d inst., at Norwich, Mrs. Michae Stark, of Lower Norwood, Surrey, aged 67.